


Perfect Fit

by aw_writing_no



Category: Kingsman (Movies)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M, Soulmate-Identifying Marks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-19
Updated: 2017-02-19
Packaged: 2018-09-25 15:52:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,235
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9827363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aw_writing_no/pseuds/aw_writing_no
Summary: It was seven months after V-Day, and for the first time in 15 years Merlin was cursing his lack of a mark. Eggsy and he had grown steadily closer since they’d saved the world, and Merlin hated himself for being so drawn to the young man. He wanted to kiss and touch and claim, but it could never be real. Eggsy belonged to someone else, had been born with a mark according to his file.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Un-Betaed Merwin I had sitting in the depths of my Tumblr. Felt like I finally needed to post something on AO3!

Merlin was born without a mark. 

For years he had waited for it to come in, but by his 24th birthday he was done wallowing in it. He swore to reclaim his body, to finally feel comfortable in his own skin, and started getting tattoos. He decided to start with a chest piece, not to cover the skin over his heart but rather to highlight the absence of a mark. 

Merlin settled on a large “Starry Night” chest plate, with a blank space the size of a fist over his heart. It was fitting, he though, that his first tattoo should be a tribute to van Gogh, arguably the most famous unmarked man in history. Merlin enjoyed the stark contrast of his skin and the space where the dark blue hills and church steeple should be in the painting, often finding himself tracing his fingers along the edge of the ink. 

He got more ink from there, somehow managing to cover every inch of himself that can be hidden beneath his clothes with tattoos that flowed together harmoniously, as if they had grown organically from his skin. 

Sometimes he was thankful that he doesn't have to go through the hassle of finding his soulmate, after seeing some of the disastrous situations other agents had ended up in. Percival had once targeted a woman using his NLP training only to discover their marks matched after pulling a month-long con on her. Harry, after registering with a service designed to match soulmates around the globe, had flown to Montana to meet a potential soulmate. Not only had the woman’s mark actually been an elk, rather than a red deer like his, but she had very particular views on white supremacy and immigrants in America. Harry had actually called for a Kingsman emergency extraction to get him back to England.

It was seven months after V-Day, and for the first time in 15 years Merlin was cursing his lack of a mark. Eggsy and he had grown steadily closer since they’d saved the world, and Merlin hated himself for being so drawn to the young man. He wanted to kiss and touch and claim, but it could never be real. Eggsy belonged to someone else, had been born with a mark according to his file. Sure, Eggsy might be willing to have some sort of fling – the boy was definitely attracted to him – but Merlin wasn't sure he’d survive having Eggsy only to lose him, which would happen the moment his soulmate came along.

Merlin was in the showers, decidedly not thinking about Eggsy naked and wet and tracing a tattoo with his tongue, when the locker room door slammed and the unmistakeable snorts of a pug filled the room. Merlin quickly shut the water off and fumbled for a towel. He barely had it slung around his waist before he heard a low whistle of appreciation from behind him.

“Fucking hell, Merlin, that is some sick ink. Who would’ve thought you were secretly a badass?” 

Merlin sighed, fortifying himself to turn around and see Eggsy. He glanced down at his chest, hating the blank expanse of skin and dreading the look on Eggsy’s face when he realized what Merlin was. Unmarked. A freak. Alone. 

Then he worked his lips into a cocky smile, and turned to face the young agent.

“Aw Eggsy, surely I proved how much of a badass I was months ago.”

Eggsy stood near his locker, JB jumping on a nearby bench to sleep while his owner removed his shoes. His eyes widened as he took in all the tattoos on Merlin’s front. Merlin’s grin faltered as Eggsy stared at the blank space for several seconds, not blinking. Eggsy’s brows drew together and he opened his mouth as if to say something, before closing it and swallowing audibly.

“Something the matter, Eggsy?”

Eggsy’s gaze snapped up to meet Merlin’s eyes, before moving back down to assess the tattoo. “Your chest…” 

“Ah, well,” Merlin said, trying to keep his voice steady. “I forget that the lack of mark sometimes throws people off, especially with all the ink –”

“No!” Eggsy interrupted, walking forward until he was just inches from Merlin. He brought his hand up to Merlin’s tattoo, his fingers hesitantly brushing the edge of the blank space.

“Your chest,” he said again, and now there was a quality to his voice that Merlin couldn't place. 

“Eggsy, what…” Merlin said, his voice trailing off as Eggsy began undoing the buttons of his shirt. “Eggsy, what the hell are you doing?”

Merlin kept his eyes trained on Eggsy’s face as the shirt fell open; he couldn't bear to look down, couldn’t bear to see someone else’s mark on his Eggsy’s chest. His stomach flipped when Eggsy met his eyes again, a bright smile spilling across his face.

“Merlin, look,” Eggsy said, his fingers again reaching towards the blank space before moving back to rest on his ribs. “Your chest. And… and my mark.”

At first glance, Eggsy’s mark was just a strange circle of ink the size of a fist over his heart. Merlin leaned forward, narrowing his eyes as he began to notice brushstrokes, nuanced colors, rolling hills of blue and black and teal, and, in the bottom corner, what looked like part of a building and a church steeple. 

“It fits,” Merlin breathed, glancing at the blank space on his chest. Merlin traced the outline of Eggsy’s mark, matching it to the edges of the blank space in his tattoo. A perfect fit.

“Do you know what this means, Merlin? We’re soulmates!” Eggsy had tears in his eyes, his voice trembling as he gazed up at Merlin. “Mum’ll never believe I landed such a posh bloke.”

Merlin felt hope bubbling through his veins, as if someone had injected champagne directly into his bloodstream. Could Eggsy really be his soulmate? Was it possible, after all these years without a mark, without another half? No, he couldn't possibly be. Merlin had a tattoo, not a mark. But a perfect fit, down to the last brushstroke and incomplete building – that had to mean something, right? Maybe not soulmate level something, but something –

“Whatever you’re thinkin’, stop,” Eggsy said laughing, bringing his hands up to curl around Merlin’s neck. “I used to hate my mark, yeah? Ain’t nothing cool about it really. Thought it’d be borin’ to just have the same bit of painting on my soulmate too.” Eggsy leaned forward to press a kiss against the blank spot on Merlin’s chest. “I’m glad we ain’t boring, Merlin.”

“Eggsy, mine isn’t a mark, it’s a tattoo. Your soulmate is still out there somewhere, it can’t be me.” Merlin closed his eyes, trying to block out the feel of Eggsy’s lips on his skin. He took a deep breath, waiting for Eggsy to realize his mistake. He waited for the boy to step back, to apologize, to leave.

Instead, he got punched in the shoulder.

“What the fuck, Eggsy!”

“Don’t be stupid. Of course we’re soulmates,” Eggsy said. “Universe must’ve thought it’d be a shame to ruin such a work of art, and just given me the piece to perfect it.”

Merlin opened his mouth to protest, but got silenced by Eggsy standing on tiptoe to kiss him.

“This ain’t a coincidence, guv. I literally complete you.”

Merlin smiled, gave in. “That you do,” he agreed, and kissed Eggsy again.


End file.
